TF1 Secures Exclusive Rights to 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and WXV
French public-service broadcaster TF1 has acquired exclusive domestic broadcasting rights for the highly anticipated 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This landmark agreement extends TF1’s longstanding partnership with World Rugby, the global governing body of the sport, and includes coverage of the inaugural WXV women’s competition.
TF1 will showcase live broadcasts of France’s matches in the top division of WXV 1, set to be hosted in New Zealand. The French team will face the hosts on October 21, Australia on October 28, and Canada on November 4. Notably, TF1 also broadcasted the delayed 2021 Women’s World Cup, which took place last year.
Scheduled from August 22 to September 27, 2025, the Women’s Rugby World Cup will convene in England, featuring 16 teams, including France, who secured automatic qualification by finishing third in New Zealand in the previous edition.
Julien Millereux, TF1’s Director of Sport, expressed the broadcaster’s commitment to rugby and women’s sports, stating, “The acquisition of this competition reaffirms our commitment to rugby and, more broadly, to women’s sport.”
“We are delighted to offer the French viewers this elite tournament, which we’re convinced will be one of the stand-out sporting events of 2025.”
World Rugby’s Chief Executive, Alan Gilpin, highlighted the central role of the women’s game in their mission to expand rugby globally. He stated, “By increasing visibility across broadcasters and via digital platforms, we can showcase the very best players in the world, increasing our fanbase and participation more broadly.”
“Over a successful and long-standing partnership, TF1 has demonstrated that it shares our vision and therefore we are delighted to be bringing an expanded Rugby World Cup and the debut of WXV, two massive moments for the sport, to viewers in France via TF1’s quality programming and promotion”, Gilpin added.
This agreement marks TF1’s second major women’s sports rights acquisition in as many weeks, following their securing of rights to the 2025 UEFA Women’s European Championship.
WXV, a new three-tiered global competition introduced in 2021, aims to double the annual international fixtures for most competing teams, thereby enhancing the competitiveness, reach, and impact of elite women’s rugby. This competition will serve as the cornerstone of a new pathway leading from regional events to the Rugby World Cup, underscoring World Rugby’s strategic focus on advancing women’s rugby.
The inaugural season of WXV 1 will kick off at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on October 20 and 21, followed by matches in Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium Mt Smart on October 27 and 28, and concluding at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium on November 3 and 4. Each venue will host a standalone Friday night test followed by a Saturday doubleheader, promising an exciting showcase of women’s rugby talent.
